Message from Carla Edwards, Texas Hill Country Native and Atelier Artist

Greetings All,

Carla at her easel

According to Merriam-Webster the term “Atelier” means an artist’s studio or workshop. I’ve been asked, and you may wonder: how has there come to be an art “Atelier Movement” developing in the middle of the Texas Hill Country? Here I’m offering my informed opinion, as I feel somewhat qualified to address this question.

I am a fifth generation Texan and came from people who value life-long learning. I grew up spending a fair amount of time at my grandfather’s ranch in Bandera County about 35 miles from Kerrville, deep in the Hill Country. Artists from many walks of life have always found their way to this area, inspired by its serenity and beauty.

The old stone ranch house of my father’s family was hung with numerous oil paintings done by local, often self-taught, artists. Many of the paintings were primitive and naive, but the feeling the artists sought to convey were heartfelt and honest. Growing up, the presence of these images helped me define my experience of place and family. They are dear to me still and many remain hanging where I remember them from childhood long ago.

Carla in her father's historic stone ranch house

Now, these many decades on, I seek to create my own evocative images in paintings and drawings, trying to capture a feeling, a moment in time, and I have encountered others in the Hill Country, young and old, with similar aspirations.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a discussion on the Atelier Movement in art education. I had participated in numerous art workshops, but have always felt something was missing from those experiences. Seeing Atelier students’ works progressing over time, it became evident to me that to achieve the level of proficiency I sought required learning this different way of seeing. Training the eye and learning to see the subject through fundamental principles of the Classical Realism tradition would enable me to draw and paint at the level of competence to which I aspired.

Grisaille Still Life by Carla Edwards

Through my own four years of training at Texas Hill Country Atelier, my work has become better than I could have ever imagined! Learning that developing a successful painting falls not just to “talent” or ‘luck,” but rather by trusting and applying a visual building process that produces results. This is what the Atelier teaches.

With its effective four-year curriculum, TX HCA has already enhanced the abilities of its past and current attendees of all ages. Providing support for the ongoing work of the TX HCA benefits the quality of life in the Hill Country and promotes the quest for life-long learning that benefits us all. Let’s keep the momentum up in the Hill Country!

Thank you for your interest.

Most Sincerely,

Carla Wheeler Edwards, MS, BSN, BA

Floral Study by Carla Edwards

Please help us meet our Hard Hat Campaign goal to retrofit a larger space. At this writing, we have already raised $80K, but are still $16K short of our goal. Support atelier training in the Texas Hill Country by making a tax-deductable donation today!

Whether you would like to raise your own art level, hone your skills, or dip your toe in to see what it’s all about, join us at any of our four levels of programming: Core Atelier, Classes, Workshops, or Life Drawing.